According to the poll, Mark Dayton's favorable/unfavorable split is 49/47, which represents a significant drop from the 53/39 split he enjoyed as recently as January. (In particular, the poll shows his support among independents has cratered.) But after asking more than 700 Minnesotans who they'd vote for in hypothetical 2014 contests between Dayton and various MNGOP gubernatorial prospects -- including Kurt Daudt, David Hann, Scott Honour, and Kurt Zellers, among others -- PPP's president, Dean Debnam, concluded that Dayton "still looks like a pretty clear favorite over any of the Republicans contemplating the race."

Meanwhile, the favorable/unfavorable split for DFLers in the legislature is 36/49. That's not good, but it's still better than the 23 percent approval rating for MNGOP legislators (with 59 percent disapproving), and DFLers lead the generic ballot by a 47/41 margin.

As far as issues go, gay marriage remains divisive (49 percent approve of legalization, 45 percent opposed), the minimum wage hike that stalled in conference committee would've been viewed favorably by the majority of Minnesotans (54 percent approve of raising it to $9.50, compared to 37 percent opposed), and increasing cigarette taxes to help pay for the public portion of the Vikings stadium is unpopular (35 percent support it, 53 percent opposed).

In fact, the most popular thing PPP asked Minnesotans about is Sunday liquor sales, which Minnesotans approve by a 2-to-1 margin (62 percent/31 percent).

Here's some unsolicited advice for Dayton, who looks increasingly vulnerable, and his unpopular DFL pals in the legislature -- get your act together and unify in support of a robust minimum wage hike and Sunday beer sales before the next election cycle is in full swing.

-- Follow Aaron Rupar on Twitter at @atrupar. Got a tip? Drop him a line at arupar@citypages.com.